


The Apple of My Eye

by hopeless_romantic_spoonie, yespolkadot_kitty



Series: As You Are [17]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Disabled Reader, F/M, Idun's apple, Loki x Reader - Freeform, Steve is a Nice Guy, The Avengers - Freeform, steve x peggy if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 01:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21348295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeless_romantic_spoonie/pseuds/hopeless_romantic_spoonie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yespolkadot_kitty/pseuds/yespolkadot_kitty
Summary: Loki has a speech to prepare, but it's foxing even the Trickster God. Cap tries to help, but an untimely interruption derails everything.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: As You Are [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1477397
Comments: 40
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written with the fabulous @hopeless_romantic_spoonie. Fic sisters forever.

“Darling. Would you consider…” Loki paused, staring out at New York from one of the balconies of Stark Tower.

“My dearest love. Perhaps you might…” He groaned at himself. Silver-tongue indeed. What good was being the God of Lies when you never wanted to lie again, at least, not to  _ her. _

He opened the little pocket of reality and drew out the apple. The glossy red skin gleamed in the sunlight, tempting and crisp. The gold leaf atop it promised his kitten a life as long as his own.  _ If _ she would take a bite.

Loki let the apple hover there for a moment. “I did not mean to keep this from you, however - no, that shan’t do. Seven  _ hells. _ ”

Pacing back and forth, he tried several more opening gambits, but none seemed quite right.

“Kitten, you recall that sojourn to Asgard? Well whilst there… Norns, this is hopeless.”

“Well, nothing’s  _ entirely _ hopeless,” a voice said from behind him.

Loki turned to see Steve Rogers, probably the Avenger he - most liked? Least hated? - most tolerated, leaning against the open French doors that led to the balcony. He scowled.

“What could you know about hopelessness, mortal,” he sneered, not really meaning it, but lashing out from the fear that Spoons would refuse him. Refuse the apple. Choose to leave him alone, heartbroken, for near eternity.

“Getting beat up for being too small? Always feelin’ like a kid on the outside, palms on the window but there’s no way in?” Steve’s Brooklyn-accented tone was casual, but his words and steady stare held gravitas. “I know a lot about hope, and living without it. And,” he added, nodding to the levitating apple, “I know what _that_ is.”

Feeling helpless and frustrated, the two emotions he detested most in the world, Loki all but growled. “If you know so much, then tell me what to say. How to convince her.”

Steve shrugged one large shoulder. “You ask me-”

“I hardly see any other mortals on this balcony,” Loki snapped.

Genially, Steve merely raised a brow. “You ask me, I saw you both at your party. No way she wouldn’t lay everything she has on the line for you.”

Surprised by the nakedly honest response, Loki turned away for a second, unwilling to let the other man see his emotions.  _ Norns _ , he could barely stand to experience them himself, let alone have another witness them.

“Thank you,” he managed, turning once he felt sufficiently composed once again.

“Sure.”

They stood in companionable silence for a moment. “There was a girl, once,” Steve said at length. “But hey, you’re probably not interested.”

Loki hesitated. If he and Spoons were to make a real life out of this, he had to realise that the inhabitants of Stark Tower were, infact, the closest he had to friends on Midgard. Anywhere in the Nine Realms, for that matter. “I find, to my horror, that I am,” he drawled, but let a smile colour his words.

Steve smiled back, a little. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, stared out at the spires and peaks of the New York skyline, iconic, busy, ever-changing. “If I had the chance for a do-over, at  _ any _ point in time, knowing there’d be no major consequences for the rest of the world, I’d grab that chance with both hands. And I’d just say what was here.” He tapped his heart with one hand. “I mean, I assume you have one.”

Loki chuckled, recognising the joke. “For a time I feared it no longer functioned,” he murmured. “And then…”

“And then,” Steve agreed, a faraway expression in his eyes. For a moment, his face was lined with grief and regret, and Loki had to look away for the naked truth of it.

The shrill ringing of Loki’s smartphone interrupted the moment. Loki jerked in surprise, still unused to Midgardian technology. The phone was useful for contacting Spoons as she went about her daily business. They often exchanged flirtatious messages if they were apart, and of course, he was able to use the clever little machine to enquire as to her well-being.

He pressed the “connect” button. "Okay Reindeer Games.” Stark’s disembodied voice floated up through the small speaker. “Don’t freak out, but Spoons is on her way to the ER.”

Loki knew enough to know what the ER meant. Where it was. What could be happening  _ right _ now. He dropped the phone. The apple winked out of sight.

“Loki? Rock of Ages. You still there?" Stark’s voice was tinny out of the speaker.

Steve snatched the phone up and spoke briefly to the older Avenger. Loki didn’t hear anything that was said. He was already halfway down the staircase, taking three steps at a time, channeling out anything that wouldn’t help him  _ get to her _ the fastest.

“Wait. Damn it!” Steve yanked at his arm, and Loki’s first instinct was to lash out, but the expression on Rogers’ lean, charismatic face - warm concern - gave him pause. “Loki. Breathe. I’ll drive us. No one knows this city like I do.”

Loki forced himself to nod, ignoring the clamouring, crushing panic threatening to eat him from the inside out. “That would be best,” he heard himself say. “I should not drive.”

“Like Tony’s letting you within a hundred feet of any of those Ferraris,” Steve quipped, and the brief moment of levity made Loki able to step back, just a breath, from that terrifying precipice of fear. Or  _ what if she isn’t fine. _ Or,  _ what if I lose her. _

The drive seemed to take an eternity, and Loki’s heart was lodged in his throat for every second of the journey.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what's happened to Spoons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're sorry for the cliffhanger. But we were absolutely beside ourselves with joy and gratitude for every comment received here and on Tumblr.

“The results of your x-ray show that you didn’t break anything, but with your medical history, we’d like to do an MRI, just to check everything out.”

Propped up in the bed in the ER, dressed in a paper-thin gown that was flattering to  _ no one _ , with only a blanket covering your legs, you felt less than equipped to disagree with the nurse. The ambulance had been effective at getting pain meds into you quickly through an IV inserted at your elbow, the medicine cold and heavy as it settled over you like a numbing blanket. “Sure, whatever. Has anybody come asking for me?”

The nurse, a short woman who looked as if she could take on the fiercest creature and come out unscathed, shook her head, punching your information into a rolling computer cart. “Not yet, sweetheart. Expecting someone?”

You heard a crash in the distance, followed by a barrage of incomprehensible shouting that you would recognize instantly. Wincing, you pointed in the direction the mayhem had come from. “I think that’s him, yeah.”

Loki, followed closely by a rather harassed looking Steve - what was  _ that  _ about? - sprinted into your room, nearly barreling over the nurse in the process. He came to a stop at your bedside, eyes sweeping over you, landing on the bruising and blood on your forehead and the line coming out of your arm. His eyes burned into yours as he addressed the nurse, in his best James-Bond-on-a-shoot-to-kill-mission voice, “Will it harm her if I touch her?”

“Don’t you go jostling her around too much there, lover boy,” the nurse replied, totally unfazed by all six foot two of Loki towering over her. “She took a nasty fall, and with her medical history, we don’t know what kind of damage there was. Your girl there is delicate.”

You couldn’t help but grumble out, “I am  _ not _ delicate.”

Loki placed one knee on the bed, leaning over you so that he could wrap his arms behind your shoulders and neck, pressing his chest into you and his cheek to the top of your head. “ _ Norns _ , what happened, kitten?”

The smell of his cologne was much preferred to the burning, sterile antiseptic of the hospital, washing over you from where your face had come to rest against his chest. You patted his back softly, careful not to lift your arms too much because even if the heavy duty pain killers  _ had _ kicked in, you still didn’t know what the damage of your idiocy was. You pushed him away gently after a moment, gesturing for him to take a seat on the bed next to your thighs. He did as you nonverbally commanded, taking one of your hands in both of his.

“Oh, I grabbed for my phone when it rang, forgetting I had my hand on the bannister. I was on the stairs of my building - the elevator is out  _ again _ . Fell down a bit-”

The nurse cut in, her eyes never leaving the screen. “She fell down two flights of stairs.”

If you could shake her for deepening the creases of worry between Loki’s brows, you would. Settling for a cutting glare, you continued. “Fell down. Called 911 when I realized I couldn’t walk, and Tony’s my next-of-kin on my medical records, to be alerted if anything happens to me. I didn’t want to worry you…”

“Will she be alright, ma’am?” Steve asked your nurse from where he was situated against the wall, calm and collected as always.

“I’m about to take her away for an MRI, and that should be the last test we need to run to see if she knocked anything out of place. Make no mistake, she’s going to be in a world of hurt for a while, and I’m assuming that tall, dark, and intimidating over there is her beau, so he’ll need to take extra special care of her.”

You pulled your pleading eyes away from Loki, plastering on a weak smile. “It isn’t my first fall, it won’t be my last.”

Cherie - you caught the moniker from the badge on her hip - came up and lifted the railing on the side of the bed that Loki wasn’t occupying. “Those drugs should be kicking in full force in a minute, and then you’re going to want to take a little nap.”

“Don’t need a nap,” you replied stubbornly. 

Cherie smiled patiently. “That’s okay, sweetheart. I’m gonna take you to get that scan done and then right back here to your boys. Sound good?”

Loki rose, holding tightly to your hand as Cherie lifted the other bed railing. “I’m going with her.”

Cherie leveled him with a look that would make even the strongest man shrink, but he was no man. Thankfully, Steve stepped in, clapping a heavy hand down on the Aesir’s shoulder. “She has to go in there alone, but they’ll bring her right back. They won’t hurt your girl, I promise.”

You were astonished to see Loki actually back down at Steve’s reassurances, pressing a kiss to your forehead. Cherie’s prediction had been correct, and you struggled against the weight of your eyelids to shoot Loki a reassuring smile. “I’ve had loads of these, Loki. It’ll be okay. See you soon,” you whispered, just before giving in gratefully to your medicated slumber.

When you woke later, you were much warmer than before, especially your hands. Licking your lips against the bitter, dry taste in your mouth, you cracked your eyes open.

Loki was perched in a chair by the side of your bed, and the tightness around his eyes lessened when your gazes met, and held. He quickly grabbed the cup of water left at your bedside table and held it to your lips, helping you take a few mouthfuls before setting it back down. The water calmed your scratchy throat.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, the low rumble of his voice hoarse, but no less pleasant for it.

You made to reach up to push an errant lock of hair from his face, but found your hands firmly held in his - the cause for the lovely warmth you felt upon first waking. Taking a quick mental scan of your pain levels, you shook your head. The action pulled at your back, but the only faint twinge of pain spoke of the potency of the drugs coursing through your system. After falling down two flights of stairs, you knew your body was very upset about it. “I’m okay. Did they say what the MRI revealed?”

“No. Since neither I, nor Rogers - he left to locate coffee - are listed in your paperwork as family, they wouldn’t release that information to us.”

The idea seemed to really upset him, judging by his harsh tone and the vein that ticked in his temple. You lifted your hand out of his grasp to reach out to him. You couldn’t quite reach his face, and he shifted so that he perched on the edge of the bed, leaning his cheek into your palm. You stroked the smooth skin, the action calming for you both.

He captured your hand in his again, pressing a kiss to your palm before setting it on his thigh. “My heart stopped when I received that call from Stark. I was fortunate that Rogers was there to bring me to you so quickly. It was the worst agony I have felt in all my days, and believe me, I do not say that lightly.”

You rubbed your thumb over the warm denim of his jeans, your heart cracking almost clean in two at the fear and vulnerability coating his words. “I’m sorry, I am. I didn’t want to call you until I was home, safe, so that you wouldn’t worry more than you needed to.”

The ferocity of his expression was startling. “No. That would have wounded me more. To know that you were in pain and I was not there at your side? All I could think about on our journey here was how terribly fragile you are, how easily you are injured.” He shook his head, taking a deep, steadying breath. “I feared I might never see your smile again, know the joy of your touch and the breadth of your love. Never again hear your laugh. It was agonizing.”

You had to say it. You couldn’t help it. The pain killers had settled over your brain and wiped away any filter that you’d once had. “But Loki, it  _ will _ happen, one day.”

So many expressions warred on his face that you couldn’t place a single one, before only love, fear, and hope remained. “Oh, kitten. It doesn’t have to.”

You furrowed your brows, not understanding.

“I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I had grand plans of a wonderful dinner, of lavish gifts and the sweetest prose known anywhere in the Nine Realms. But now, when faced with the reality…” He paused, holding out his hand, palm flat, in front of you. An apple, the skin glossy and unblemished red, a jaunty golden leaf growing from its stem, appeared. “I am stricken by the thought of spending even a single day without you. Of getting another blasted phone call from Stark that stops my heart cold. Of worrying for your health through the winter of your Midgardian life, and then facing nothing but the yawning chasm of my own years alone."

You reached out, taking the apple carefully in your hands, the shiny, tempting flesh cool beneath your touch. “What is it?”

“It is an apple I procured from my mother on our last visit, with her blessing. If you take but one bite - although it is delicious and you may eat it all should you wish - my fears of your brief lifespan will be silenced. You will be granted a long life, easily as long as mine or Thor’s. And I hope, that if you accepted this offering, you would spend the millenia by my side.”

You had never seen him look so unsure, so shaken, as he was in that moment. He searched your face, watching the gears turn over in your mind as you idly turned the apple over in your hands. Chewing on your bottom lip, you thought it over, thinking back to all the times you had felt so guilty for loving him, for capturing his heart when you could only hold it for so long. He deserved someone who could match him in years, if not in a body that wasn’t so ‘substandard’.

“What will happen to me? To my body - I mean specifically, to my back?” you asked quietly, needing to know what you were signing up for. It was one thing to know that your spine was going to deteriorate over the next few decades, but what would happen to you over thousands of years?

He sighed heavily. “It will slow the degeneration process drastically. As I still look quite young for living over two thousand years, my body matches my outward appearance. You would age similarly.”

That was… doable. You could handle that. But could you handle watching Tony, Steve, Nat, almost everyone you held dear die? It was the question that Loki had faced, and he had found a solution in the apple you let your eyes fall onto. You doubted there was an entire orchard on Asgard that you could plunder so that your newfound family could join you in near-immortality. And even if there were. You alone should not have the luxury of choosing who in the Universe would benefit.

But then you let your gaze drift up to the man who was watching you so intently. You had never known happiness and peace as great and all-encompassing as when you were with him. He was the love of your life, and you knew without a doubt that your abiding affection for each other would only grow over the many lifetimes that the unassuming fruit in your hand could bring. You could _ truly _ grow old together, and you’d be a fool to pass that up.

“I probably shouldn’t eat this right here in the hospital. Think you can keep me and this bad boy safe until we get back to my apartment?” you asked, unable to match the seriousness of his proposal, but the smile that stretched across your face as you offered him the apple for safe-keeping hurt your cheeks, it was so big. Your stomach felt full of nervous, happy fireworks.

He didn’t reply, leaning forward and carefully pulling you into his arms, burying his face into the crook of your neck. He trembled lightly in your embrace, and you held him tighter for it, joy bubbling out of you in quiet laughter.

And then he kissed you. It was warmth and happiness and relief and  _ promise _ and every ounce of love that he contained. His forehead rested against yours and his eyes swam with unshed tears. You had rarely seen him so vulnerable, and your heart squeezed. “You’ll be mine?”

  
You let the apple fall soundlessly into your lap, cupping his jaw tenderly. “I’ve  _ always _ been yours.” 


End file.
